Witches' Familiars: A Look at Familiar Spirits and Magical Pets

Updated on July 20, 2015

A witch and her black cat familiar. | Source

Witchcraft: Familiars in the Dark Ages

Today neopagans and modern witches refer to their household pets as being their "familiars", but the concept of a witch's familiar originally meant something a little darker. The witches of the Dark Ages and beyond had familiar spirits that were not as cuddly as Fido...not as sweet and docile as Mr. Fluffers. The witches' familiars of the Dark Ages were anything but kind and fluffy...oftentimes these familiars were very demanding and in some cases quite sinister when their wills were not satisfied.

The familiars of the Dark Ages were said by the Church to be "demons" or evil spirits that took the form of animals and even humans in order to exact their evil will upon a local witch. But the witches of the Dark Ages saw their familiar spirits as being helpful in all manners of survival...we will explore the concept of the witches' familiars of the Dark Ages and compare them to the witches' familiars of modern times.

Often witches were thought to morph into the form of a hare in the British Isles during the Dark Ages and onward. | Source

The Witch's Hare

Possibly one of the lesser known of the witches' familiars is the hare. A hare is a larger type of rabbit and is mostly prominent in Europe (more so America). There are many folklore stories that tell of women shapeshifting into the form of hares in order to steal things from their neighbors or merely to escape from danger. They were also said to shift into the form of a hare to move about at night undetected and meet up with other local witches for a witches' "sabbat". In addition to witches being able to shift into the form of a hare, they were also thought to have hares as pets...or even more mysteriously as "familiars".

It was thought that certain spirits would agree to help a witch if the witch would help them in some way. Usually by feeding the spirit with blood or some other bodily fluid like breast milk. These spirits would go out into the world to do the witch's bidding in the form of a hare. Tibb was a familiar spirit talked about during the Pendle Witch trials who had the ability to take the form of a hare to escape unwanted situations (read on to learn more about Tibb the familiar).

Hares were most likely associated with witches because of the fact that they were sacred to many ancient goddesses in the past (i.e. the goddesses Eostre, Artemis, Hecate, Holda). When the Church wanted to convert the "pagans", they had to make some of their customs and deities look evil...hence turning sacred animals into "witches familiars" or evil spirits.

Notice the black cat perched on this Victorian costumed witch's shoulder. Black cats have long been regarded as a witch's companion. | Source

Two witches are pictured here with a cat in one's lap. Perhaps a familiar? | Source

The Black Cat

The most famous of the witch's familiars is the black cat or what modern people might call the "Halloween Cat". Cats are steeped in mystery. They have been loved by many ancient peoples and are still loved in modern times today. The first domesticated cat was in Ancient Egypt, and no doubt because cats were regarded as sacred to the Egyptians' cat goddess of fertility and motherhood known as Bast. In Nordic culture and religion, the goddess known as Freya was said to have been guarded and guided by two large cats. In China, the black cat brings good luck. Perhaps the association between cats and old-world religions is the reason why cats have been tied to "witches" during the Dark Ages and onward.

In the confession of Elizabeth Demdike during the Pendle Witch Trials, the accused witch said that her familiar's name was Tibb. Tibb was a spirit who could take the shape of almost any animal he pleased, and in one piece of her confession he had taken the shape of a black cat. This familiar spirit wanted to aid Elizabeth in the cursing of three local individuals, but when she opposed the idea he knocked her into a ditch.

When the pilgrims came to America, they brought with them the idea that black cats were evil because they were associated with witches. And so this superstition rooted itself in American culture and can still be seen in Halloween decorations and debauchery today.

Some modern witches search out black cats to have as pets, and therefore refer to these black cats as their "familiars". Are these black cats truly familiar spirits or simply pets that they consider to be magical?

The Witches' Hounds

Hounds have long been regarded as associated with the afterlife in various old texts and folklore, so it is no wonder that famous witches from the Dark Ages were said to have familiars that took the form of black dogs. One such infamous witch, Alizon Device, who was put to trial for witchcraft in the Pendle Witchcraft Trials, confessed to having a familiar who was in the form of a black hound. This black hound would suckle at her breast and thereafter would do her bidding. She confessed that her familiar, the black dog, had lamed a man after she requested it of him.

Helen Clark, another accused witch, in the year of 1645 confessed to having met the devil. The devil had taken the form of a black dog.

Certain old-world gods and goddesses were said to have been protected by hounds, including the Greek Goddess of Witches - Hecate. There were also ancient gods who were depicted as dogs themselves - Anubis, the jackal-headed god of the Egyptians and Cerberus, the underworld three-headed dog guardian to the Greeks. Dogs have long been tied to the crossroads between life and death.

A fifteenth century drawing of a witch feeding her frog and/or toad and lizard familiars. | Source

The Wolf and Other Familiars

In addition to the likely suspects, there were many other animals that were thought to be familiars to witches during the Dark Ages.

The Wolf is an animal that was often associated with witches in the northern European countries. During the werewolf-witch trials, many men and women were accused of witchcraft and being able to shift into the likeness of a wolf. Some said that it wasn't the actual witches who were the wolves but actual familiar spirits who inhabited the bodies of wolves to do the witches' bidding. Wolves were sacred to old gods, as well.

Any type of weird or unlikely creature could have been accused of being a witch's familiar. Some of the lesser known familiars included frogs, toads, lizards, blackbirds, snakes, insects and more.

A witch's familiar was not always in the form of an animal...the familiar spirit could also take the form of a human being if it so wished. A couple of the Pendle Witches accused of having familiars confessed that their familiars were actually in the form of a human man or a little boy. Perhaps these familiar spirits took on the shape of something that the witch could feel most comfortable with...or perhaps they took on the shape of something that the witch might have been fearful of.We may never know.

Read more about witchcraft:

American Witches: Legends of Maryland's Moll Dyer, ...Legends of witches in America have been around since the beginning of America. Read stories about Maryland's witch Moll Dyer, the notorious Salem Witches, the Bell Witch of Tennessee fame, The Blair Witch, and also Wiccademous of Floridian fame.

Many modern day witches have a magical pet that they may call their familiar. | Source

Witches' Familiars Today: Spirit Guides and Magical Pets

In the neopagan movement today, there are many who believe in animal spirits as guides and guardians. There are those who call themselves modern-day witches who claim to have "familiars", but often these familiars are not spirits as they were in the past. Often these modern-day witches' familiars are merely cute, fluffy household pets such as a cat, dog, bird, or other domesticated creature. Modern witches call these household pets their familiars but they might be better suited to be called magical or spiritual pets.

For a modern witch to lay claim to a familiar, the animal must be of spiritual form and have made a pact with the witch. The animal is actually not an animal, per se, but a spirit who takes the form of an animal...and most likely this spirit will not reside in the witch's home.

Familiars are also different from totem animals and animal spirit guides, though often they are all thrown into the same pot. Totem animals are an animal that has chosen to guard a specific tribe, family, or lineage and usually do not do any magical bidding for the person involved. An animal spirit guide may come to you in a dream or in real life to teach you a valuable lesson. The familiar...the witch's familiar...will stay with the witch for a certain time in order to help him/her out magically...to do his/her bidding...and then they may leave.

As you can see, the "familiars" of today are much different from the familiars of the past.

My Own Video on Familiars

Test your knowledge on familiars.

More by this Author

While herbs were put on this planet for a purpose to aid human beings in healing, unfortunately there are some herbs that are considered poisonous herbs. When we say poisonous herbs here, we are talking particularly...

Hauntings can be very frightening...but even more frightening are hauntings involving a dark spirit or a demon. Here are the signs it's a demon haunting your home, and things that can attract a demon.

Comments 16 comments

Kristen Howe 16 months ago from Northeast Ohio

Anytime Kitty!

kittythedreamer 16 months ago from the Ether Author

Thank you Kristen! I appreciate your support.

Kristen Howe 16 months ago from Northeast Ohio

Kitty, this was another one of your interesting hubs on witches and the like. This was so useful to know about their familiars. Voted up!

kittythedreamer 17 months ago from the Ether Author

SFIAOgirl - No problem. :)

SFIAOgirl021 17 months ago

she has alot of names lol she's my baby girl i love her so much and i consider us to have a close connection so yeah she's sorta like a familiar to me i'm lucky to have her in my life :) thnx for the advice

kittythedreamer 17 months ago from the Ether Author

SFIAOgirl021 - Traditionally familiars can be any kind of animal form...but they are not typically a domestic pet that we label as a familiar. They are spirits that take the shape of an animal but change very readily.

SFIAOgirl021 17 months ago

i've heard birds can be familiars as well i consider my bird to be mine because i feel as if i can understand her when she talks to me even if it's chirping and not her saying actual words i know she's a cockatiel but i don't care to me i feel like me and her have a close connection

kittythedreamer 2 years ago from the Ether Author

DDE - I find them so fascinating, so that's why I share with others. :) Thanks for reading!

DDE 2 years ago from Dubrovnik, Croatia

Incredible! You have enlightened me so much more on the witches tales.

Ericdierker 2 years ago from Spring Valley, CA. U.S.A.

I heard that toys came from witches originally. Is that correct?

Chuck RitenouR 2 years ago from Front Royal, Virginia

Merry Meet.

blake4d 2 years ago from Now Rising Out of Phoenix Arizona Earthlings

I recently lost my most recent familiar, Mouser. He was a big Abyssinian tabby, with gold eyes, a ringed tail and 22 pounds of magickal meows. He would follow me for walks and even once attacked a burglar that was breaking into my house. He passed away on St. Paddy's Day this year. I miss my buddy. He was a true friend and companion. Blessed be to Mr. Mouser. Thanx for this hub KTD. Keep on Hubbing. Blake4d

crazyhorsesghost 2 years ago from East Coast , United States

Familiars have always really interested me. I love black cats. I have toads here in the front yard. I will have to say that this is one of the best Hub Pages on the subject of familiars ever. I will be linking to your Hub from several of my sites. Plus I shared the Hub Page an pinned it. Thanks for a Hub Page that really interested me.

FlourishAnyway 2 years ago from USA

Very intriguing. I knew about the black cats and dogs but enjoyed the detail here but did not know about wolves and hares. I have three black cats myself, as the poor dears are so hard to adopt out to good people. Voted up and pinning to my Halloween board.

Meisjunk 2 years ago from Pennsylvania

Lots of information here, and it put to rest a lot of myths I'd never learned the whole story to. Voted up, useful, and interesting!

heidithorne 2 years ago from Chicago Area

The first time I became aware of the term "familiar" was several years ago in the vampire flick, Blade. Blade was pointing out a cop who actually was a vampire: "He's a familiar."

Yes, I think we should call our wonderful pet friends and guides, "magical" or "spiritual" instead of familiars.